Box with pressure-operated cover



April 9 5 A. AZARCHI 2,832,524

BOX WITH PRESSURE-OPERATED COVER Filed Nov. 4. 1955 IN V EN TOR. MM

wmmwm AT THRIVE VS United States Patent Ofiice 2,832,524 Patented Apr. 29, 195

BQX WITH PRESSURE-OPERATED COVER Arthur Azarchi, Trenton, N. .l.

Application November 4, 1955, Serial No. 544,384

19 Claims. (Cl. 229--7) This invention relates to boxes and more particularly to boxes having flaps for controlling the flow of granular material from boxes in which the material is sold to the consumer. The invention is intended more especially for use with soap powders, soap flakes and breakfast cereal which are used in small quantities at various times.

Boxes in which soap powders are sold must be inexpensive. The conventional boxes are made with provision for breaking a flap loose at an upper corner of the box when soap powder is to be poured from the box. There is no convenient way to control the amount of powder poured from the box and a housewife will often pour more powder than she intends to use because the pouring is controlled entirely by the tilting of the box, and the flow of granular material is not always uniform and does not cut oit sharply when the housewife starts to turn the box upright to prevent further flow.

It is an object of this invention to provide a box with a flap which opens and closes, to control the fiow of material from the box, in response to variable pressure exerted against the sides of the box by the hand in which the box is held. It is another object of the invention to provide simple and inexpensive means for opening and closing a box flap in the manner indicated.

One feature of the invention relates to constructions which can be added to conventional boxes, and some of the constructions include provisions for exerting a negative pressure.

Negative pressure can be defined for the purposes of this invention as a continual effort on the part of the mechanism to bring the flap to rest in a position that would be slightly below a proper closure position. This motion is of course prevented by contact between the flap and its seat (made of parts of the sides of the box). Without this negative pressure some flaps might not close firmly (particularly afteruse by a consumer) due primarily to the lack of resiliency inherent in the type of paper or cardboard used in the construction of conventional boxes. On the other hand with flaps possessing negative pressure the closures have been found to be firm and tight continually because the neagtive pressure takes up the give resulting from use.

It should be pointed out that the means for instilling this negative pressure can be the main spring, 30, alone. The spring can be pre-bowed or pre-displaced by an in stalling jig when inserted into the box. Thus when the installing instrument is withdrawn from the box, the main spring will thereupon tend continually to unstress itself and in this effort it continually pulls down on the box flap causing negativegpressure of the flap.

However, since this resilient main spring is comparatively stiff and strong it was found desirable to supplement this main spring with a more weakly resilient member (such as member 22, in Figs. 1 and 2; or the elastic band 73 in Fig. 7; or the elongated spur 38 in Fig. 9). In these mechanisms most of this initial stress or displacement is sufiered by the weaker resilient member and almost none by the strong resilient main spring. This arrangement may be more satisfactory since it puts just enough pressure on the flap to maintain a tight closure and not enough pressure to encourage tearing and excessive give of the paper components.

Some flaps (see Fig. 3 and Fig. 10) disregard the need for negative pressure on the grounds that:

(1) Such production controls and methods are employed to minimize the give, resulting from use, to such a point as it may be deemed tolerable by the manufacturer of the product to be dispensed by the box.

(2) Resilient materials can be substituted for or added to the paper construction of the box, flap and hinge to add enough resiliency to give firm closure continually without the need for negative pressure."

(3) The slight crevice or opening (between the flap and its seat when in its closed position) that develops as a result of use of the flap may be deemed desirable by manufacturers of certain products.

Another type of flap solves the problem of expected give of the paper during use, by deliberately presetting the flap slightly below what would be considered its normal or flush closed position. With use, this flap tends to rise to a flush or slightly above a flush closed position, but in all positions during the life of the box, the flap never presents a crevice sufficiently large to permit seepage or spillage of an enclosed granulated product.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereto, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views;

Figure 1 is a persepective view, partly broken away and in section, showing a box with a flap and means for opening and closing the flap in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the upper portion of the box and along the line 22 of Fig.- ure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing a modified construction for connecting an operating rod with the flap of the box;

Figure 4 is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken on i the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a large scale, sectional view of one construction that can be used for maintaining a negative pressure on the flap;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary persepective view, in section, showing another modified form of the invention; and

Figures 7-10 are fragmentary sectional views showing other modified forms of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a box 10 with a bottom 11, a top wall 12, side walls 13 and end walls 14 and 15. There is a flap 16 formed mostly from material of the top wall 12 and partly from material of the end wall 15. The box 10 may be perforated or pre-cut, with merely a layer of relatively thin paper or adhesive type tape over the edges of the flap 16, so that the flap can be easily broken loose when the contents of the box are to be used. The flap 16 may be part of wall 12 and merely creased along line 18 to form a hinge or may be connected to the rest of the box 10, and more specifically to the fixed portion of the top wall 12, by a separate member acting as a hinge.

The means for operating the flap include an operating rod 26 having a forked upper end with a connector 22 fastened to the flap by a staple 24 or any other suitable fastening means. The staple 24 is representative of connections joining the mid portion of the connector 22 with the flap 16.

The opposite ends of the connector 22 have studs 26 extending into openings in the tines 28 of the forked end of the operating rod 20. The openings in the tines 28 are large enough to permit the studs 26 to rotate, and provide pivot connections, even though the studs are not in alignment with the openings.

Since (when the box is in a closed position), the resilient member 22 is stressed or bowed, there is a constant effort on the part of this member 22 to unstress or straighten itself. Therefore, the flap 16 is constantly tending to be pulled farther into the box than its contact with the sides 13 and 15 will allow. Thus the flap 16 is said to be under negative pressure.

The lower end of the operating rod 20 is connected with a spring and the spring has cars 32 at its opposite ends for contact with the sides 13 of the box. In the construction illustrated, the spring 30 is made of resilient plastic material and is of one-piece construction with the operating rod 20 and the cars 32.

Both of the cars 32 are preferably connected to the side walls 13 of the box. In Figure 1, the righthand car 32 is connected to its adjacent side wall 13 by a staple 34 extending through the side wall and the car. A detail of this construction is shown in Figure 4. The lefthand ear in Figure 1 has a roughened surface to hold it in place by friction.

Since the sides of the box 16 are opaque, the location of the cars 32, against which pressure must be exerted to operate the invention, is indicated by legends 36, as shown in Figure 1. When the sides 13 of the box are pressed toward one another at the regions of the cars 32, the spring 30 is compressed so that it bows upwardly to displace the operating rod 20 toward the upper end of the box. The first part of its motion closes the clearance between the ends of the tines 28 and the underside of the flap 16, confronting the ends of the tines. This motion releases the negative pressure holding the flap firmly closed. Further upward motion pushes the flap 16 into an open position as indicated in dot-and-dash lines. It will be evident that the extent of opening of the flap 16 is dependent upon the degree of pressure exerted against the ends of the spring 30 through the sides of the box.

When the pressure against the sides 13 is relaxed, the spring 30 returns to its original position, the flap 16 returns to closed position, and the member 22 is restressed.

This cuts off further flow of the soap powder from the box even though the box is still tilted. The invention thus provides a quicker and more convenient means for stopping the flow from the box, and it has the further advantage that by regulating the extent of opening of the flap, the rate of flow from the box can be controlled. Still another advantage is that the flap is always in a firmly closed position, when the box is not being used. Therefore, if the box is accidentally tipped over, no spillage or wastage or messy clean-up job will result.

Figure 3 shows a modified construction in which an operating rod is made without a forked end and is joined to a connector 43 by a pivot pin 44. The connector 43, is in turn connected to an elastic band or member 42. This elastic member 42 is connected to the flap 16 by staples 46. In Figure 3, member 42 is shown in a stressed or tensioned condition, thereby exerting negative pressure on flap 16. If desired the rod 4-0 can be fastened to the elastic member 42 directly, eliminating the need for both the connector 43 and pivot pin 44.

Figure 5 shows a modified construction of the operating rod. In place of the one-piece rod 20 of Figures 1 and 2, Figure 5 shows a composite rod having an upper section 20a and a lower section 201). The upper section has a reduced-diameter end portion which telescopes into the confronting end of the lower section 20b.

An elastic sleeve or strips 47 are connected at their opposite ends, to the different sections 20a and 20b, by fastening means 43. These strips 47 urge the sections 20a and 20b into the telescoped relation indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5. This composite rod can be used with different flaps and flap-operating mechanism and l is connected in the system with the strips 47 stretched when the flap is closed so as to obtain a pull or negative pressure on the flap.

Figure 6 shows a different type of flap as well as a modified construction of the operating means for the flap. Figure 6 the flap is made entirely from material of an end wall 50 which corresponds to the end wall 14. The flap, indicated by the reference character 52, is connected at its upper end to the wall 50 by a score line hinge 54. This flap 52 opens inwardly as indicated in dotted lines.

The flap 52 is swung about its hinge 54 by an operating rod 56. This operating rod 56 is connected to the flap 52 through a rigid angle 57 and a hinge 58. The angle 57, preferably made of plastic, has its downwardly extending leg secured to the flap 52 by adhesive and the angle 57 preferably has its vertex in the vicinity of the hinge 54. The hinge 5533 may be cloth or paper and it is secured to the inwardly extending leg of the angle 57, and to the upper end of the operating rod 56, by adhesive.

The rod 56 can be operated by a spring similar to that illustrated in Figure 1, but is shown with a somewhat modified spring 60 shaped like a toggle in contrast to the upward bow of the spring 30 shown in Figure 1. There are cars 32 on the spring 60 of Figure 6, and these cars 32 bear against the side walls of the box in the same manner as already explained in connection with the construction illustrated in Figure 1.

A spring having the shape of the spring 60 bends most sharply at its mid section and the other parts of the spring bend as necessary to maintain the parallelism of the cars 32.

if. desired, the spring 60 can be made as an actual toggle with a hinge at the mid portion and with a coil spring urging the toggle toward a straight condition; in fact any means for translating thrusting motion through is satisfactory; but in the preferred construction the operating rod 56, spring 60 and ears 32 are preferably a one'piece, plastic molding, which is more economical to make.

Although the flap 52 opens inwardly, experience has shown that the contents of the package do not interfere with the free operation of the flap 52. Boxes of soap powder, and similar granular material, are never packed tightly, nor to capacity, and the flap 52 merely displaces some of the adjacent granular material inwardly and upwardly as the flap swings open.

Figure 7 shows another modified construction having a flap 16 connected to the stationary part of the top 12 by a score line hinge 18. This construction also possesses negative pressure or tension for holding the flap 16 in closed position. The flap 16 is of multi-ply construction because of the way in which the boxes are made with various panels for closing the top of the box after filling. This multiply construction includes a panel 64 which forms the lowermost ply of the flap 16. A tab 66 is bent downwardly from the mid section of the ply 64 to provide an abutment for limiting displacement of the upper end of an operating rod 68. The edges 69 of the ply 64, from which the tab 66 was severed, provide abutments for restraining transverse displacement of the operating rod 68, through there is only 'a minor component of force tending to displace the operating rod 68 in a transverse direction.

A spur or shoulder 71, spaced some distance from the upper end of the operating rod 68, provides a hook for holding one end of a rubber band 73. The other end of the rubber band passes between the bottom ply 64 and the next ply above it. The bottom ply 64 is secured to the ply above it by adhesive and this anchors the rubber band 73 to the flap.

The lower end of the operating rod 68 can be connected with spring means such as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 6, but the rod 68 is short enough so as to leave position.

Other tension means can be used in place of the rubber band 73, but the construction shown has the advantage of being simple and inexpensive. When the operating rod 68 is pushed upwardly, the first part of its motion closes the clearance between the upper end of the rod and the confronting face of the flap 16. Further upward movement of the operating rod 68 pushes the flap 16 into open position, the extent of the opening depending upon the degree of pressure exerted against the sides of the box, as previously explained.

Figure 8 shows another modified form of the invention in which the flap is formed entirely from material of the top wall 12-. In Figure 8 the flap, designated by the reference character 76, is connected to the rigid part of the top wall 12 by a score line hinge 18 and the opposite edge of the flap 76 is preferably made with a sloping face 78. A small clearance between this face 78 and the confronting sloping face of the wall permits the flap to be drawn partially into the box as shown in Fig. 8. However the clearance is not great enough to permit the flap to pass entirely into the interior of the box.

The construction shown in Figure 8 includes an operating rod 80 connected to the bottom of the flap 76 by adhesive, or any other suitable fastening. Figure 8 shows a strip 82 which has adhesive on both faces thereof, and this strip provides a quick and efliective construction for bonding the operating rod 80 to the flap 76 with a minimum of time and labor.

This type of design does not depend, for firm closures, on negative pressure. It will be remembered that a negative pressure, at least one resilient member of the mechanism (either the main spring, and/ or an added member, that is either elastic or resilient) is in a stressed or displaced state when the box is closed firmly. However in this type, when the box is in a closed position, all members are in equilibrium or unstressed. With this type of flap the anticipated yield which may take place within the mechanism components and their connections, in addition to that of the paper hinge, is compensated for by recessing the sloping edge 78 of the flap initially. Now as the give occurs during use of the box, the flap tends to rise to a flush position and even rise slightly above a flush position. However, during this rise from a depressed to a risen position, the crevice between the sloping edge '78 and its confronting face is always small enough to prevent sifting of the enclosed granular material. In other words, instead of seeking to maintain one single firm closed position of the flap, this type of recessed closure permits the flap to take a series or range of closure positions that still present seep-proof closures.

it may be added that this type of flap closure can be used in connection with and in addition to negative pressure, if so desired by the manufacturer.

Figure 9 is a modification of the mechanism of Figure 2. It is a simpler method of obtaining negative pressure on a flap 85 without the use of tines and an interstitched rotating member. At the upper end of an operating rod 87 there is an elongated spur member 88 which acts as the supplementary resilient member, taking the place of member 22 of Figure 2.

When the box is not in use, this spur member 88 is always in stressed position causing the flap to be continually drawn firmly closed. Positive opening of the flap for dispensing is accomplished by the tip 99 of the operating rod 87, as it moves upward. The free end of the elongated spur member 88 is stapled by a staple 89 or other fastening means to the flap 85, a short distance 6 from the hinge 18. The spur is in an unstressed (straight) state only when the rod is in dotted position, as shown when moving upwardly in the process of opening the flap.

Figure 10 shows another modified construction in which the flap 16 is connected to the upper end of an operating rod 92 by a novel stapling connection. The bottom lamination of the flap 16 is folded back on itself to form a panel 94. Pins 96, extending from the upper end of the operating rod 92, are pushed through the panel 94 and they are caused to bend, in the manner of a staple, by inserting a thin steel plate 96 behind the panel 94. The plate 96, which has a downwardly extending handle portion 97, is removed from the box after serving its purpose as an anvil for bending the pins 96. No provision for negative pressure is shown in this figure although it can easily be added if desired.

It will be understood that staples, adhesive, or other fastening means can be used interchangeably where the construction is such as to permit the use of the different means for fastening. Spring ears may be held in place by friction alone. Parts which have been described as made of plastic can be made of light metal where cost warrants such construction. Composite wood-and-metal constructions can be used also. Paper hinge connections are generally durable enough since the entire assembly is thrown away when the box is empty.

Any suitable adhesives can be used where adhesive fastening is employed. Experience has shown that Pliobond is a particularly good adhesive, .and it is conveniently used by having the adhesive applied to opposite sides of a strip, as illustrated 'by the strip 82 in Figure 8.

Although the invention has been described in connection with boxes for soap powders, it will be understood that it can be used with any other box for material, particularly granular material, which is to be poured from the box in the course of using the material. A number of different modifications have been described, but other modifications can be made and features of the invention can be brought together in different combinations within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A box for granular material, said box having a rectangular cross section and havin a bottom, a top wall and side walls with at least the side walls made of stifI' and flexible material, spring means extending from one side Wall to the other having a midportion higher than the ends of said spring means, fastening means connecting at least one end of the spring means to its adjacent side wall, an operating rod connected with the mid portion of the spring means, a flap for closing an opening near the upper end of the box, a hinge connecting the flap to the remainder of the box along a side of the opening extending from one side of the box toward the other, and an operable connection between the flap and the upper end of the rod for causing upward displacement of the operating rod by the spring means to raise the flap and permit discharge through said opening of any contents enclosed within the box.

2. The box described in claim 1 and in which the spring means have ears at opposite ends with substantial areas of contact with the side walls of the box and the connection of the spring means to at least one side wall is a connection of that side wall to the ear at the adjacent end of the spring means.

3. The box described in claim 1 and in which the spring means include a leaf spring bowed upwardly and having its mid portion operably connected to the lower end of the operating rod so that pressure of the ends of the spring means toward one another increases the upward bow of the leaf spring to displace the operating rod.

4. The box described in claim 1 and in which the spring means include an element extending transversely across the box along a course which extends upwardly toward the mid portion of said element and then turns downwardly along a broken line to the opposite end of said element whereby pressure of opposite ends of the spring,

2" means toward one another tends to displace the mid portion of said element upwardly in the manner of a toggle moving into broken position.

5. The box described in claim 1 and in which the upper end of the operating rod is forked with tines of the fork spaced from one another transversely in the box, and means operably connecting the upper ends of the tines to the underside of the flap.

6. The box described in claim 1 and in which the operable connection between the flap and the upper end of the rod includes an element under the flap and extending for a substantial distance in the same general direction as the surface of the flap above it, said element being bent into a stressed condition when the operating rod is in its lowered position.

7. The box described in claim 5 and in which the means for connecting the upper ends of the tines to the flap include a connector secured at its mid portion to the flap and having studs at its opposite ends extending into openings in the tines of the operating rod to provide peripheral connections between the cfonnector and the tines.

8. The box described in claim 5 and in which the means for connecting the upper ends of the tines to the flap include a connector secured at itsmid portion to the flap and having its opposite ends connected with the tines, the connector being stressed to give the flap a bias toward closed position when the operating rod is in lowered position.

9. The box described in claim 1 and in which the spring means are connected with both sides of the box and the operating rod is connected to the spring means and the flap and of such limited length that the flap is pulled into closed position while the,spring means remain under some tension.

10. The box described in claim 1 and in which the operating rod is not long enough to reach all the way to the flap when the spring means are in a normal unstressed condition, whereby some clearance remains between the end of the rod and the flap, and a tension or elastic element secured at its upper end to the flap and secured at its lower end to the operating rod for holding the flap closed with some pressure when the spring means are in their normal unstressed condition.

11. The box described in claim 1 and in which the operating rod includes two sections, one of which telescopes into the other, and a tension element giving the sections a bias toward telescoped position with respect to one another, the length of the operating rod being such that the sections are in at least a partially extended relation and the tension element under stress when the flap is closed and the operating rod is in its lowered position.

12. A box for soap powders or the like including a bottom, a top wall, side walls, and end walls, the end walls being substantially of less area than the side walls whereby the box is of rectangular cross section, the box being made of cardboard and at least the side walls being stilt but flexible, spring means extending from one side wall to the other and being higher at their centerportion so that pressing of the ends of the spring means toward one another raises the center portion of the spring means, fastening means connecting at least one end of the spring means to its adjacent wall, an operating rod connected $5 with the center portion of the spring means and extending upwardly therefrom along a diagonal line toward one corner of the box, the top wall and one end wall of the box meeting in a corner and part of at least one of said walls being cut to form a flap which swings into open position to permit any contents within the box to be poured from the box, a score line at one edge of the flap providing a hinge for connecting the flap to the remainder of the box, and an operable connection between the upper end of the operating rod and the flap through which upward displacement of the operating rod swings the flap into an open position.

13. The box described in claim 12 and in which the flap is formed entirely from material of the top wall of the box adjacent to said corner with the hinge line of the along that edge of the flap which is most remote from said corner.

14. The box described in claim 12 and in which the flap is formed entirely of material of the end wall of the box and the hinge line is along the edge of the flap which is nearest to the top of the box.

15. The box described in claim 14 and in which a substantially rigid angle has one leg secured to the flap and the other leg extending inwardly and operatively connected with the operating rod.

16. The box described in claim 1.2 and in which the flap is formed of material of both the top wall and the side wall and the hinge line of the flap is a score line in the top wall and along the edge of the flap which is most remote from said corner.

17. The box described in claim 12 and in which the flap is of multi-layer construction made up of overlapping and connected panels of the top wall of the box and a part of the lowermost lamination is bent downwardly through to form a part of the operable connection between the flap and the operating rod.

18. A box for granular material, said box having a bottom, a top wall, and side walls with at least the side walls made of stilt and flexible material, actuating means extending from one side wall to the other and having a mid portion higher than the ends of said actuating means, an operating rod connected with the mid portion of said actuating means for displacement upwardly when opposing forces are applied to opposite ends of the actuating means by pressure against the sides of the box, a flap closing an opening near the upper end of the box, a hinge connecting the flap to the remainder of the box, and an operable connection between the flap and the upper end of the operating rod.

19. The box described in claim 18 and in which the resilient means has surfaces at opposite ends in contact with the inside faces of the side walls and at least one of said surfaces is held against displacement along the side wall by the friction of a roughened area of said surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Young Aug. 11, 1953 

